Run In
by BlissfullyObliviousAuthor
Summary: He was always there. Everyday. It had been almost a week since Castiel first saw him, and he admired the stranger from afar almost everyday. He knew he was being sort of... well stalker-ish but he couldn't help but be interested in him. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Stranger in the Park

The cream beige colored walls and light brown wooden floors working well with each other, and the light pouring in through the sliding door, leading to the balcony, made the place seem warm and welcoming. Pictures of his mom and older siblings littering the walls of his living room, and dining room, along with posters of his favorite TV shows.

He inhaled deeply, the scent of Pine-sol invading his senses, and sprawled out on his love seat, a long sigh leaving his lips. Now that he had his apartment in order, he could relax.

"Come here, Cecil," He called out, smiling as he heard the sound of paws padding on the wooden flooring, and the sight of his Labrador coming into view. He sat up and picked up his puppy. "How do you like our new home, Cecil?" He cooed lovingly, giggling as Cecil licked his cheek. "I'll take that as a good sign." He scratched behind Cecil's ear absentmindedly, as he thought of anything else he needed to do. When nothing came to mind he stood up, puppy in arms and he grabbed the dog leash from one of the hangers near the door. "How about we go for a walk to check out the park?" He shoved his wallet, headphones, phone and key to his apartment in his satchel, and slung it over his shoulder.

Cecil just barked and wagged his tail making Castiel chuckle. He closed the door to his apartment making sure the door was locked before walking down a set of stairs, and out the door of his apartment building.

Castiel put Cecil on his leash, setting the pup down on the cement. He walked slowly, taking in the sights of the big city as Cecil stayed by his side occasionally stopping to sniff a tree. It was hard to maneuver around the large groups of people, especially with Cecil trying to sniff them, and a group of girls asking if they could pet the pup.

After those few minor distractions they finally made it to their destination. Leaves were scattered all around the ground where they walked, making a soft crunching sound beneath Castiel's sneakers and Cecil's paws. There were children running around the area, jumping into various piles of leaves, only to spay them further on the cold cement. Couples walked hand in hand while others sat on the benches around the park, just simply enjoying each other's company. The scent of food from nearby food vendors filled the air, making his empty stomach growl.

Figuring he might as well eat, he reached into his satchel and grabbed his wallet, walking up to the hot dog stand, little Cecil trailing behind him. A gust of wind swept through and he shivered slightly, wishing that he brought a jacket or sweatshirt to keep himself warm but he didn't think that it would be this cold outside.

The man at the stand gave him a friendly smile that Castiel returned and asked for a hot dog, and a bottle of water. He took money out of his wallet and gave it to the vendor, telling him to keep the change as he walked away. He walked around with Cecil for a few minutes, snacking on his hot dog before he finally found a open bench to sit down on.

"Sit Cecil," He commanded, smiling as Cecil obeyed plopping down next to his feet. Castiel took a drink of his water and watched the people at the park interacting with each other. His baby blue eyes stopped on a particular park goer just a few feet in front of him that seemed to be walking his dog too. The man had this odd caramel colored locks, swept over to the right then slicked back. His eyes were an alarming golden color. Castiel quickly looked down as the man looked his direction, busying himself with scratching behind Cecil's ear. He glanced up after a minute and let out a small sigh of relief as he saw that he was gone. He smiled down at Cecil, and stood up. "Come on let's walk around for a little bit than let's go home. It's getting too cold out here."

* * *

He was always there. Everyday.

It had been almost a week since Castiel first saw him, and he admired the stranger from afar almost everyday. He knew he was being sort of... well stalker-ish but he couldn't help but be interested in him. He zipped up his over sized jacket, and pulled down his sock monkey hat, so it covered up his ears. He had been trying to work up the courage to talk to him, since he was genuinely curious on why he came to the park everyday.

Castiel tugged on the bottom of his jacket restlessly, standing up from his place on the bench. The dark haired man, took a deep breath and started to walk towards where the stranger was, shoving his hands in his pockets out of a nervous habit. He kept his gaze to the ground, trying to ignore the growing fear inside of him. When Castiel looked up again he was just a few feet away from him, and he felt complete fear hit him like a ton of bricks, and he had sudden second thoughts about talking to him. He stopped in his tracks and he started to back step, only to run into another park goer. He turned around quickly and apologized to the young women he ran into, asking if she was okay. He looked behind himself and saw those golden eyes looking right at him. Time stopped for a moment, and he had to remind himself how to breath. He tore his gaze away and pulled on the strings of his hat from embarrassment, and quickly walked away not wanting to embarrass himself anymore than he already did.

* * *

"I don't know what it is about him, Lisa... He just seems really interesting.." Castiel stacked the new books on the shelf, and let out a long sigh.

"Aww how cute, little Cas has a crush." Lisa teased him, pinching his cheek much to Castiel's displeasure.

"I-I do not have a crush on him. I don't even know him for Pete sakes.." He looked away from Lisa, a faint blush making it's way onto his pale cheeks. Lisa was a really good friend but sometimes she could really push his buttons. "I think I'm going to talk to him today.."

"That's what you've been saying for since you saw him. Just do what I've been telling you to do. Go up to him and introduce yourself. It's not that hard."

"Easier said than done, Lisa." He mumbled before standing up straight. He drifted off into his thoughts of what he could even say to him. "What would I even say. 'Hi I'm Castiel and I have been secretly stalking you for the last week, what's your name?'"

Lisa gave him a less than amused look and shook her head standing up straight as well. "Just try to start a conversation with him. Even if it's just a small 'Hi', just to get things rolling." When Castiel gave a apprehensive look she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Look I know you are socially awkward around people, but just try to talk to him like you talk to me."

"Like I said earlier, easier said than done."

* * *

After work Cas went to the park like he usually did, and like usual he was there again. Castiel sat on a bench a couple down from where the young man was, and put on his headphones to make himself look less odd. He played some music from his phone, and occasionally glanced over at where the stranger was sitting, but otherwise just looked down, tapping along to the beat of the music with his foot. When Castiel looked over again, he saw that the stranger was gone and looked around for him. The dark haired man saw what he thought was him walking towards the other end of the park. He stood up and after a minute of hesitation started to follow him, staying a good distance away from him and tried to seem like he wasn't stalking someone. God, this was so messed up on so many levels.. but he needed to figure out where he went everyday. The young stalker in training trailed behind him, stopping every now and then to pretend to admire a tree or flower, before Cas continued to follow.

About five minutes of following the stranger, Castiel found himself peaking out from behind a small building in the middle of an unknown area to him. Cas glanced at where the other was kneeling on the ground, trying to see what he was doing.

"... Hey, Sammy. Sorry I'm a little late today." A modulated voice said.

Cas had to hold back a small gasp as he heard the man's voice for the first time. It was so.. pleasant to listen to. He moved as close to the edge of the building as he could without getting caught, and listened to the other speak.

"Well, Dean is just starting to laugh again.. Although he was laughing at me because I fell down the steps." The man let out a small chuckle, shifting so that he was sitting on the ground, in front of the grave.

Castiel knew that he shouldn't be listening in on such a personally conversation, but this was probably going to be the most information he ever found out about this guy. So he put his morals aside and kept listening.

"... I can't believe it's been two years already, Sammy.. I miss you like crazy." His shoulders slumped forwards, and a small sigh left his lips. "I'm still so sorry I let this happen to you.. Dean keeps telling me it wasn't my fault.. but if I hadn't made you go.." He trailed off, his voice cracking towards the end of his sentence.

Castiel felt his heart clench in his chest, and decided that it was time to go home. He blinked as he felt something brush over his hand and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the biggest spider he ever saw crawling on his hand. He clamped his free hand over his mouth to keep from screaming in terror, his chest heaving from his efforts. He started to thrash around violently, still trying to stay quiet so that the other man didn't notice him. His glasses fell off of his face in the process but he didn't notice still freaking out about the spider. He fell onto the ground and started to crawl away in tears.

He laid in the bushes for awhile just trying to calm himself down enough so he could leave without the other knowing. In the end, the stranger ended up leaving before Castiel did walking right pass the bushes where he was curled up into the fetal position.

* * *

Today was the day Castiel was going to talk to him. He had it all planned out. He was going to 'accidentally' bump into the other man, apologize, and strike up a casual conversation with him. It was going to be a piece of cake!

At least that's what he thought until he laid eyes on the stranger and he felt his confidence diminish. Cas let out a frustrated sigh and looked down at Cecil. "I don't understand why I'm having such a hard time talking to him.. He's just a normal guy but I-I just can't seem to get the words out when I'm near him.." The young male ran his fingers through his already messy hair, and sat down on a bench, tying Cecil to the leg of the bench. He leaned back and put his headphones on again, figuring he would stay for a little while and then go home. He closed his eyes for a minute to just listen to his music, before Cas opened his eyes again. "Come on, Cecil let's go home.." Maybe tomorrow would be the day he talked to him.

Castiel looked down to grab Cecil's leash but his eyes widened as he saw that Cecil was gone. He stood up so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash, and looked around for his puppy. "Cecil?! Cecil where did you go?!" He called out, speed walking around the area. "Cecil! Come here boy!" Tears started to form in the corner of his baby blue eyes as he frantically looked for his puppy. Castiel spotted his Cecil near another man and his dog and quickly ran over to him, scooping the puppy up into his arms. "Oh my god, Cecil! Don't run away from me like that again!" He scolded lightly, hugging the pup close.

"Oh, your his owner? He just ran over to me and Pep. I was just going to go look for his owner."

"Oh thank you so mu-" Castiel looked up and he choked on his words, when he saw those familiar golden eyes looking at him. "Uh, I.. T-Thank you.." His voice cracked, and his cheeks felt too warm. "I-I'm Castiel!" He blurted out, startling the other man.

"Oh.. Well nice to meet you, Castiel. I'm Gabriel." Gabriel gave him a small smile and held his hand out for the other to shake.

Gabriel. That was his name. He finally figured out his name. Castiel hesitantly shook his hand. "I-I'm Castiel.. Oh, wait I already said that.." His face got warmer as he heard Gabriel chuckle.  
"I-I got to go I.. left the stove on." He gave a small wave goodbye and speed walked home with Cecil still in his arms. He couldn't stop the grin the broke out on his face once he got home. He actually talked to him without making a fool of himself.


	2. Dr Horrible

Castiel was on cloud nine when he went to work the next day. He couldn't wait to tell Lisa that he actually talked to Gabriel. As soon as he walked through the doors to his work he searched for his friend. He found her stacking books on the shelves and grinned. "Lisa! You won't believe what happened yesterday!" He squealed, a bounce to his step as he walked to her.  
"What happened? Did you chicken out on talking to him again?" She glanced over at him for a moment and raised an eyebrow.  
Castiel shook his head, his grin not wavering. "His name is Gabriel. I actually talked to him yesterday! Well, Cecil got loose and ran to him and his dog, but we still talked!" His voice became higher pitched throughout his sentence, until it resembled something of a teenage girl's voice.  
Lisa actually looked surprised. "You talked to him? Oh, Cas that's great!" She went over to him and pat his head. "So what did you say to him?" She motioned towards the boxes of books and Castiel sat down on one. Lisa followed suit and sat on the box next to Castiel.  
"Well, at first I didn't even know it was him. I was just worried about finding Cecil. Then when I realized it was him, I felt like I couldn't breath.. I thanked him and introduced myself, but I think I might have scared him.." He rubbed the back of his neck, and smiled wearily. "He said his name was Gabriel, and I uh, introduced myself again."  
"You introduced yourself twice? Oh, Cassie you didn't embarrass yourself anymore did you?" She asked patting his shoulder.  
".. Yeah. I started to get nervous and before I could talk to him anymore I said I had to go because.. 'I left the stove on'." He face palmed himself and he heard Lisa laugh beside him. "I panicked! I couldn't think of a good reason for me to split." He felt his face get warm and he tugged on his sock monkey hat.  
"Cassie that's actually really adorable. So are you going to talk to him today?"  
Cas stopped tugging on his hat and thought for a minute. "... Well, I'm going to try.. hopefully I don't make a fool of myself like yesterday.."

o~o~O~o~o

Castiel walked to the park after work again, and spotted the familiar caramel colored locks of Gabriel's hair. He took a deep breath and after a quick pep talk, walked over to where Gabriel was sitting. 'Just be cool.' He kept telling himself over and over again in his head. "H-Hey, Gabriel." He said once he got close enough to the other male. Gabriel looked up from his cellphone, and after a moment smiled.  
"Oh hey, Castiel. Nice to see you again."  
Castiel smiled and went to lean on the bench, only for his hand to miss the bench completely. He fell onto the ground and felt his face burn from embarrassment. Gabriel looked down at him, worry written all over his face.  
"Are you okay, Castiel?" He asked, holding a hand out to the man on the ground.  
Castiel quickly stood up, his new glasses crooked on his face, and his hair a mess. "I-I'm fine!" He smiled wearily and wiped off the dirt that stuck to his face from his fall. "Thank you for your concern."  
Gabriel smiled and scooted over on the bench to make room for Castiel. "No problem."  
Castiel sat down next to him, near the edge of the bench. He fixed his glasses and ran his fingers through his hair to try to straighten it out as much as he could. "So um, how are you?" He asked, tugging on the strings of his Doctor Who hoodie.  
"I'm fine. It's a little colder than I expected today but other than that I'm fine." Gabriel shot an amused looked over at Castiel. "How are you?"  
"I-I'm good, my cheek hurts a little from where I fell but I can't complain." Castiel tugged on his hoodie strings more, his face getting warmer with every second he spent by Gabriel. "S-So I was wondering why do you come to the park everyday?" The dark hair man saw Gabriel go still for a brief moment before he smiled over at Castiel.  
"I come to visit someone. It's just a promise I made." Gabriel gave a small shrug of his shoulders and shifted on the bench so that he was facing Castiel, one arm draped over the back of the bench and the other in his lap. The way Gabriel was sitting made Castiel get more nervous but he tried to keep calm, not wanting to make a fool of himself.. well more than he already had. "So you're new around here aren't you?"  
Castiel blinked and looked at the other male. "How did you know that?"  
"I've been coming to this park everyday for almost two years and I only recently saw you come here. So unless you just never visited this park, it's right to assume that you just moved here."  
"O-Oh.. Jeez, you're like another Sherlock Holmes," He muttered earning him a smile from Gabriel. "Nice deducing though. Yes I am new to the city. I like it though. It's quite lively."  
"That's awesome. Maybe I can take you sight seeing sometime, but right now.." He glanced at his phone, and stood up. "I have to go visit that person I was talking about earlier. See you tomorrow, Castiel."  
Castiel looked up at him and a small smile made it's way onto his lips. "Alright, see you tomorrow, Gabriel." He stood up and watched the other walk towards the end of the park. His small smile turned into a grin, as he realized that they were going to talk again tomorrow. He did a small squeal of excitement at the thought of actually getting to know Gabriel, and be friends with him. He walked home with that grin plastered on his face.

o~o~O~o~o

"He's really nice, Luci and we've been talking everyday for almost two week already." Castiel grinned at his brother through the screen. "He talks to me for a little while before he goes to see his friend."  
"A friend?" Lucifer asked, sitting back in his computer chair, hands behind his head and feet propped onto his desk. "If he's seeing someone everyday, Cas, don't you think he could be a little.. tied up, already?"  
Castiel blinked and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Oh. Oh no." He shook his head. "He visits a friend's grave." He clarified, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I found that out during the first week of seeing him at the park."  
Luci sat up in his chair, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me? Did you say grave?" He blinked at the nod Castiel gave him, causing him to nod also. "Well, I definitely hope he's not tied down to that."  
"He visits it everyday and he says it because of a promise he made to a friend." He gave a small shrug. "I think it's sweet that he's keeping his promise even after two years." A small smile made its way onto Castiel's lips.  
"You're such a sap, Cas. If you're going to go for a guy, I wish you'd find a guy that wasn't so.. sappy." Lucifer spoke, bringing his legs up underneath him and watching Cas roll his eyes. "You know what I mean, sass queen!"  
Castiel stuck his tongue out at his older brother, and chuckled. "Whatever. How are Lilith and Alistair doing?" He asked, getting off the subject of Gabriel.  
Luci waved his hand and scoffed, a small smile coming to his lips. "They're fine. Little snots, like they always are."  
Castiel laughed lightly. "That's good, but are you guys still going to come visit me for Christmas? Anna and mom already said they were coming for sure." He looked at his brother hopefully. As much as his niece and nephew scared him, he still missed them.  
"Yeah, Cas. I'll try and pull some time off work, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Always up for those good ole' family get togethers." He rolled his eyes and gave his brother a chuckle.  
The dark haired man grinned and nodded. "Fantastic. I can't wait for you guys to see my apartment." He glanced at the time at the bottom of the laptop screen and sighed. "Alrighty I'm going to head off to bed. Goodnight, Luci. Love you."  
Luci pointed at Cas through the screen, making the other tilt his head slightly. "Stay out of trouble. I don't want to have to come all the way over there to kick some douche bags ass for messing with my little brother. G'night, Cas. Give Gabe kisses for me." With that the elder shut his laptop, ending the call.  
Castiel's face was bright red from his brother's last comment and he pouted slightly. "Stupid, Luci." He mumbled, standing up from his desk and stretching. His back cracked a few times, making him sigh as he walked to his bed.

o~o~O~o~o

Castiel had been waiting at the bench him and Gabriel sat at each day for over a half an hour without a sign of Gabriel anywhere. It was a gloomy day, the ground wet from a small rain shower that stopped a few minutes before Castiel got the park. There were only a few people in the park today, not the usual forty-some that came everyday. Heck, he wouldn't even be here today if it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to see Gabriel. He looked around for him, trying to spot his caramel locks in the foggy park as he zipped up his Hunger Games hoodie and pulled down his Laplander so that it covered his ears. He gave a small sigh and rested his chin in his the palm of his hand.  
He waited a few more minutes before standing up, ready to head home as he felt a few rain drops land on his nose, signaling the start of another shower. He grabbed his Star Wars themed umbrella from the side of the bench he was sitting on and while he struggled to open it, Castiel felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. He let out a small scream of surprise, dropping his umbrella into a small puddle of water at his feet and turned around to face whoever grabbed him. He saw Gabriel standing there with an amused smirk on his lips, his usually slicked back hair damp and on his bangs on his forehead. Castiel let out a small sigh of relief. "Oh thank god. It's just you, Gabriel." He said as he tried to calm his fast beating heart in his chest. "Jeez, why did you sneak up on me? You made me drop my Star Wars umbrella." He pouted, turning around to pick it up from the ground.  
"Sorry, Cas. I didn't know you would get that scared." Gabriel chuckled as Cas turned around again and held his umbrella over both of them so they didn't get wet from the rain. "Also sorry that I'm late. I knew it was going to rain so I went to visit my friend before I came to see you. Then I got caught in the last little rain shower so I had to stick around there for a little while to wait it out." He explained, making Cas nod slightly with a smile.  
"It's fine. I'm glad that you still came to see me even though it's raining." Castiel said, before blinking as Gabriel took the umbrella out of his hand and held over them instead.  
"It's no problem, but can I ask you a favor? You see my house is on the other side of the city and I don't have a car, so I was wondering if I could stay at your place for a little while until the storm passes?" Gabriel asked, smiling hopefully at Castiel.  
The dark haired man, looked surprised at the request before he nodded a few moments later. He has known Gabriel for two weeks now.. It wouldn't hurt to have him over for a little while. "Of course. I don't own a car either but my apartment isn't too far from here."  
Gabriel let out a sigh of relief and gave Castiel a one arm hug, pulling him close to his chest. He felt Castiel stiffen up for a moment before the other hugged him back, hesitantly. "Oh, thank you so much, Cas. I was worried you were going to say no." He held onto the shorter man for a moment longer before he let him go.  
Castiel's face was slightly red from the physical contact and he straightened out his hoodie, and pushed up his glasses before he grabbed Gabriel's sleeve. "I-I wouldn't have said no. Here my apartment is this way." He mumbled, starting to lead Gabriel to his apartment. Gabriel followed Castiel close behind still shielding them from the rain with his umbrella.  
"Hey, where did you get this umbrella by the way? It's pretty awesome." Gabriel said, admiring the way the umbrella looked like a Lightsaber.  
Castiel smiled and looked back at him. "Oh, I got it online. I think it was like twenty bucks." He shrugged slightly.  
A few minutes later they arrived at the door to Castiel's apartment and Castiel pulled his key out of his apartment. He unlocked the door, but hesitated to open it. He looked back at Gabriel and smiled nervously. "Before you see my apartment.. I just want to warn you that it's sort of an... eyesore.." He turned back to the door and opened it, walking inside. He smiled as Cecil came running from the living room to greet Castiel, who bent down to scratch the puppy's head softly.  
Gabriel walked in right behind him, and looked at the decent sized area of Castiel's apartment. He noticed that Castiel was looking at him wearily, and he smiled at him. "I like it, Cas. It's really you." He commented walking around the apartment to look at all of the posters on his walls.  
Castiel felt slightly more relaxed but he rubbed his wrist slightly, as he watched Gabriel look around his apartment. He noticed that he stopped at his Welcome to Night Vale poster and he smiled slightly as Gabriel looked at him, pointing at the poster as if silently asking what it was. "It's a poster from a podcast called 'Welcome to Night Vale'. It's a really good podcast." He explained motioning to the Labrador who was sniffing Gabriel's pant leg , "That's also where I got the idea for Cecil's name. The main character's name is Cecil."  
Gabriel nodded slightly, bending down to pet Cecil's head softly. "I swear you are just like him in almost every way." He muttered under his breath, making Castiel tilt his head slightly.  
"What was that?" Castiel asked.  
"Oh nothing, um.. hey can I get something to drink if it's not too much trouble." He stood back up straight and started to shrug off his jacket.  
Castiel looked at him for a moment longer, before he nodded and went to the kitchen. "Do you want Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, or Dr. Pepper?" He asked, peaking at him from behind the refrigerator door.  
Gabriel sat down on the couch, and turned his head to look at him. "Oh um, Pepsi Max please." He looked at the flat screen mounted on the wall and grabbed the remote turning it on. He scooted over on the couch when Castiel came back with their drinks, and said a quick 'thanks'.  
"... Do you want to watch a movie while you're here? I-I know a really good one that we could watch." Castiel said, opening up his can of Dr. Pepper, and taking a sip. "It's only forty minutes long and by then the rain should have passed.."  
Gabriel smiled and handed Castiel the TV remote. "Sure, that's sounds fun."  
Castiel's face broke out in a grin and he turned the TV to Netflix. He scrolled through his recently watched and found 'Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog', he started it over. Castiel toed off his shoes and sat criss-cross on the couch, getting comfortable.  
Gabriel did the same thing as Castiel, and couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he saw Castiel cuddle a pillow shaped like a TV remote. He was about to ask where he got it from, but the beginning of the movie started, and Castiel already looked too into it. He turned his attention towards the screen, sipping his Pepsi Max. Cecil jumped up on the couch with the two of them, and settled in the space between Castiel and Gabriel.  
About ten minutes before the movie ended, Gabriel got a text from his friend. He sighed and stood up from the couch. "Oh jeez, I'm sorry Cas. I have to go. My friend is having troubles getting around again." He groaned, slipping on his shoes.  
"O-Oh that's fine. We can just finish the movie some other time." Castiel said, pausing the movie where it was. He looked outside and sighed a little seeing that the rain didn't stop. He grabbed his umbrella from where it was next to the couch and handed it to him. He rubbed the back of his neck, and smiled slightly. "Just give it back tomorrow when we meet at the park." He said as he walked Gabriel to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gabe."  
"Yeah, see you Cas. Sorry I had to leave before the movie ended. I actually really liked it." Gabriel looked at him with a small smile, and ruffled Castiel's hair softly. "Also thanks again for letting me come over." With that Gabriel made his way out the door.  
Castiel closed the door and leaned his back against it, once it was completely closed. He smiled brightly at Cecil and picked him up happily, holding him close. "Oh wow.. Isn't he great, Ce?" He asked, chuckling as the pup licked his cheek. "I'm glad that you like him too, Ce."


End file.
